Pheasant brooder



Dec. 3, 1940.

J. B. OLSON E PHEASANT BROODER Filed Oct. 8, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS JOHN 5. 0450A/ ARNOLD ZENK W/LL/AM M VWLLETT Dec. 3, 1940. J. B. OLSON ETAL 2.2 35

PHEASANT BROODER F i1ed 0015. 8, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN foxes JOHN B. OLSON I ARNOLD 'ZENK J9 W/LL/AMMM/ILLETT He. 6 He. 9

A TTO/P/VEY Patented Dec. 3, 1940' UNITED STATES 2,223,358 j PHEASANT BROODER John B. Olson, Arnold Zenk and William M. Wil-. lett, .Fort Atkinson, Wis., assignors to James Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 8,

Claims.

The present invention relates to brooders particularly adapted for baby pheasants, and has for one of its objects, providing means for, conven iently preserving'the-necessary sanitary condi-' 5 tions, for caring for and feeding the babies and for moving the building from place to place.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a building which is particularly adapted for out-of-doors and whereby a warm, dry, draftl0 less shelter is provided.

problems is to prevent the accumulation of droppings on the floor. In the present invention we provide a removable screen which acts as the floor for the babies and a removable pan positioned under the screen which acts to collect the droppings, the pan and screen being removable drawer-like from the exterior of the building by the attendant.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple hover having means for adjusting the device'to accommodate various sized babies. The unit is considerably smaller than the floor space, thus the babies have a choice between remainingunder the heating unit and exercising on the floor Where it is cooler.

An important object of our invention is to provide aunit heating device or hover which, in addition to being adjustable vertically may be lifted from its front lid-like; high enough to expose the entire floor space so all of the babies may be seen and inspected. I I

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for automatic thermal control of the heat and manual control of the ventilation and convenient access to the babies from the exterior.

To these and other useful ends our invention I consists of parts, combinations of parts or their equivalents as hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is an end elevation of our improved brooder building illustrating one of the hinged roof portions in its raised position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Fig.3 is the other end elevation of the building as shown in Figure 1.

. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the building taken on line 44 of Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the device shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In buildings of the class, one of the diflicult Fort Atkinson, Wis., I

1937, Serial No. 167,880

Fig. (Sis a. bottomview-of trated in Figures 4 and 5.

Fig. '7 isatransverse section of the hover as shown in Figure5, taken on line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Fig. 8 is a detail fractional .view illustrating 5 the means for opening and closing the outlet doors to the compartments. v 7 Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on line 9-9 of Figures. i

' Fig. 10 is a fractional section of the droppings 1 pans taken on lines I 0-I 0 of Figure 4. I

As thus illustrated in the various figures the device consists of a building which is in its entirety'designatedby reference character. A. The heatingunits or hovers are designated in their entirety by referencecharac-ter B.

Building A comprises end walls II] and II and side walls I2--'I2.. A floor member I3 is provided having as a support at eachend skidmembers I4-I4 each being cut-away at its bottom ends 20 as at I5 to thereby provide means whereby th building maybe easily transported on the surface of the ground in a manner'well known. to" thear-t. 7

We provide gable roof members I 6--I 6 which 5 the hover as illus are secured to the end members Ill and I I in any desired manner, thus forming a gable ,roof which is adapted to cover the inner half of each compartment of the building. The other halves of the compartments are adapted to be covered by 39 roof members I1I 1 each being hingedly secured to members I6 as at I8. Members I! may be lifted door-like on their hinges (see Figure 1) and thus'expose the entire compartment to view and whereby the attendant may reach every part 35 of the compartment from the exterior.

The building is divided into compartments by means of a partition wall '25 which extends from member I3 vertically to a point as at 26. The balance of the partition is preferably a screen. 40 21. Thus, twoelongated compartments 28 and 29 are formed having therebetween means for providing suitable ventilation from one compartment tothe other.

In brooders ofthe class which are generally left in the open and exposed to the elements, the roof must be waterproof and, for obvious reasons, extend a distance over the endand side walls of the building as clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 5. We provide a rubber fabric joint 30-30 between members I6 and I1. The upper edge of this joint is lapped under the roofing material 3| and the' lower edge; over the roofing material 32, thus to make this part of the roof water tight and permit the raising 55,

and lowering of the hinged part of the roof.

In order to insulate the compartments from the exterior we provide insulating material for the inner walls and roof as follows: Narrow spaced strips 33 are provided and insulating boards 34-34 are secured to these strips as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, thus to insulate the side walls of the building.

We provide strips 33 and insulating boards 36-36 on members l6 as illustrated in Figure 5 and we also provide insulating strips and boards 31-31 on members I'l, thus the roof members are insulated. Strips 33 are provided on the inner sides of the end walls l6 and H of the building to which we secure insulating boards 36. Thus it will be seen that we have provided a strong, compact, weather-proof, insulated building, the insulation consisting of the walls and roof of the building, dead air spaces clearly illustrated in Figures 4 and ,5 and insulating boards.

In devices of the class, sanitation is just as important as the means for weather-proofing the building. We provide means for removing the droppings and protecting the birds from contact therewith as follows:

Elongated openings 4lJ-4ilin one end of the building are provided (see Figures 2' and It) each having a door 4'l-4l' which is hingedly mounted as at 42-42. We provide strips 43-43 which act as guides between which droppings pans 44 and 45 are positioned, ,(see Figure 3). The strips are slightly. higher than the height of the. pans. Pans 4'4 and 45' are made one half the length of the inclosure. Pan 44 is similar to pan 45 but is provided with a loop 46' which hooks over the flangedend of pan'45 as clearly illustrated in Figure 10, thus when pan 44 is removed, pan 45' will be pulled into the position formerly occupied by pan 44, then it also may be removed from the. inclosure and. when these pans are replaced, 45' is first movedinto the position of pan 44, the loop 46 is, placedover the end of pan 45 as illustrated and then pan 44 is moved into its position. Thus the pans are made in a convenient size for handling and means are provided for convenientlyremoving and replacing the pans,

We provide a frame 41 on the upper part of which we secure a wire mesh screen 48. The frame is adapted toreston members 43 and the opening is high enough to permit the insertion and removal of this frame and screen assembly. The entire assembly isvery light and easily handled therefore it is practical to make this unit in one piece; We provide spaced rods 51 the ends being secured to the frame members close to: the top" thereof, thus screen 48 is provided with suitable supports to prevent sagging.

Screen 48 is made of mesh which is small enough to" act as a floor for" the chicks or baby pheasants but is made large enough whereby the droppings will fall into pans'44 and We provide a strip: 49'. which extends around the wall of the compartment as clearly illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. which is secured to the walls as at' 56. The lower edge extends downward and: inward terminating a short distance above screen. 43 and far enough inward to divert any droppings into: the pans; and furthermore, thev chicks will not be able to walk on this member and therefore it to a large extent will. not be contaminated.

It will be seen that the baby pheasants or chicks are provided with a suitable floor to walk on which will be kept practically clear from droppings and contamination and that the screen and pans may be easily removed, cleaned and replaced either simultaneously or individually.

Inbrooders of the class it is necessary to provide means for economically heating the interior and the means provided must also act as a hover under which the babies may gather and secure the benefit of a temperature which is high enough to insure their comfort. At the same time, the hover must be smaller than the compartment so that the babies may have exercise -room where it is cooler. Very young babies will remain. largely under the hover but as they grow and have more strength they will seek a cooler temperature and when necessary, they will go back to the hover for warmth. Therefore we provide hover B having a relative size as clearly indicated in Figure 4 and a cover as indicated in Figure 5. v

Hover B isc'onstructed as follows: (see Figures 6- and' 7 Side and end frame members 60 and 6! are provided, the upper side of which is closed with aninsulating board 62 and. the lower side is covered by means of a wire's'creen 63 and preferably black fabric cloth 63a thus to permit passage of evenly diffused heat downwardly. This screenv is preferably a combination of wire and cloth which is secured to the bottom of the rame members by means of strips 64 (see Figure 7-); \Neprovid'e a cover 65 which is shaped as il- Iustrated in Figures l and'5 and is secured to the frame as illustrated. The cover has an angle whereby the babies will not be able to roost thereon. We also provide a plate 66 which is loosely positioned on the point of the cover by cotter pins 6'! whereby this plate may tilt in either direction. Thus the babies will not be able to roost on the apexiof the cover. On each end of unit B we provide bars 68-68 which extend rearwardly to a pointadjacent partition' 2'5 and have a rod 69.

We provide notched bars 76-10 each secured to partitio'n'25 as illustrated'in Figures 4 and 5. The notches are tapered downwardly whereby rods 69 may rest by gravity therein.

On the free ends of units B we secure chains H -ll which pass through enlarged openings in the free ends of brackets 12. Slots are provided in the lower ends of brackets 12 whereby the chain links may find lodgement therein. Thus unit B at its hinged and free sides may be raised and lowered and held in'a horizontal position as indicated on the left of Figure 5. r a

It is frequently necessary to have access to the entire floor space of the brooder and also a full view of the entire enclosure. It will be noted on the right of Figure 5 that member B may be lifted and held as indicated for this purpose. I

For heating the hover we provide a resister 15 which is held in the position illustrated in Figure 6 by porcelain insulating knobs T6, the ends as at H being secured to an insulating block 78. .A wire 66' leads from block 18 preferably to a red light 16 and a wire 8| leads from block 18 to a thermally controlled switch 82. The wires then lead from members 82 and 19 to the exterior temperature at which the switch will. operate, may be manually adjusted. 1'

Suitable doors provide access to the controllii'ig member 84 and the red light bulb 19. Thus one may open this door and observe by the light whetlier the resister is in circuit or not and also make necessary temperature adjustments. In devices of the class it is necessary to provide ventilation. For this purpose we provide elongated openings 9393 having lids or doors 94-94 which are hinged to the end wall of the,

ing supports fordoors Bil-99. Each door has achannel bracket I into which the operating bar IOI loosely extend-s. The bar is provided with a bent hand piece I02. members llll are loosely supported by brackets Hi3. We provide a rivet Hi4 which extends through bracket I00 and door 99, as illustrated in Figure 9, leaving room above this rivet for the passage of bar I0 I; thus when the door is opened, the bar may be lifted and moved forward to the position illustrated on the right of Figure l. The inner end of the bar is provided with a downwardly extending portion H15 and a notch for the reception of the rivet I04, whereby the door may be moved in.either direction when thus engaged.

While the brooder and hovers illustrated are particularly suited for brooding pheasants they may also be used for brooding baby chicks and the like, we contemplate the use of several different frames having several different sized mesh screens, thus to provide for baby pheasants, baby chicks and older birds.

In the various figures of the drawings we have illustrated our preferred form of the device. It will be understoodthat various detail changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the appended claims.

Having thus shownand described our invention we claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising in combination an inclosure having a uniform roof, a lower portion of said roof being free and hingedly mounted to the other portion to thereby provide access to the inclosure, a floor in said inclosure, a pan slidably positioned on said floor, a screen slidably positioned above and adjacent said pan and adapted to act as a supplemental floor for the inclosure, a narrow transverse opening in one wall of said inclosure the top of said floor adjacent said opening forming the bottom of the opening and the top of said opening being above the horizontal plane of the top of said screen, said opening having a removable closure whereby the screen and pan may be removed drawer-like from said inclosure through said opening, a hover positioned in said inclosure being adapted to occupy a relatively small floor space, vertically positioned spaced notches secured to the rear wall of said inclosure, said hover having means spaced therefrom and adapted to engage said notches and form a hinge support for the rear side of the hover, and adjustable means on the front side of said hover whereby the hover may be adjusted hinge-like or lifted lid-like to thereby expose to view the entire surface of said supplemental floor.

The outer ends of 2. A device of the class described, comprising in combination an inclosure having auniform roof, a lower portion of said "roof being free and hingedly fimounted to the "otherportion to thereby provide access to the inclosure, a uniform floor in said inclosure adapted to occupy the entire space between the four walls of the inclosure, a pan slidablypositioned onsaid floor, a screen slidably positioned above and adjacent said pan and adapted to act as a supplemental floor for the inclosure, a narrow transverse opening in one wall of said inclosure, 'the top of said floor adjacent said opening forming the bottom of the opening and thetop of saidopening being above the horizontal plane of the top of said screen, said opening having a removable closure whereby the screen or pan'individually may be removed drawer-like: from said inclosure through said opening, a hover positioned in said inclosure being adaptedto occupy a relatively small floor space, said hover positioned a distance in front of the'rear wall of said inclosure and having hinged connections thereto whereby the front of the hover may be raised lid-like to thereby ex pose to view said supplemental floor, and means secured to;the front of said'hover adapted to regulate the vertical position thereof, said hinge connection being adjustabl'evertically whereby said hover may be positioned at difierent heights. 3. A device of the class described, comprising in combination an inclosure having a uniform' roof, a lower portion of said roof being free and hingedly mounted to the other portion to thereby provide access to the inclosure, a uniform floor in said inclosure adapted to occupy the entire space between the four walls of the inclosure, a pan slidably positioned on said floor, a screen slidably positioned above and adjacent said pan and adapted to act as a supplemental floor for the inclosure, a narrow transverse opening in one wall of said inclosure, the top of said floor adjacent said opening forming the bottom of the opening and the top of said opening being above the horizontal plane of the top of said screen, said opening having a removable closure whereby the screen or pan individually may be removed drawer-like from said inclosure through said opening, a hover positioned in said inclosure being adapted to occupy a relatively small floor space, said hover positioned a distance in front of the rear wall of said inclosure and having hinged connections thereto whereby the front of the hover may be raised lid-like to thereby expose to view said supplemental floor, and means secured to the front of said hover adapted to regulate the vertical position thereof, said hinge connection being adjustable vertically whereby said hover may be positioned at different heights, said hover comprising a box frame having a top cover and a bottom screen, a resister positioned betweensaid top cover and screen, a roof positioned over said box providing a loft, a thermally controlled switch positioned Within said access to the inclosure, a hover positioned in said inclosure being adapted to occupy a relatively small floor space, the rear being positioned a distance from the rear wall of said inclosure and ;being, hinged thereto, means for adjustably positioningthe front ofsaidhover, said hinge'connec-tion having means cooperating with said front adjusting'meanswhereby the hover maybe positioned'at variousdistances from thevfioor andand to a socket in one of the walls in said inclosure, andta removable lid in said roofv whereby the interior of saidloft may be made accessible. 5. A. device of the class described, comprising in combination, an, inclosure. having auniform floor and a gable roof; the lower portions of said roof being free and hingedly mounted to the upper portions to thereby provide access to the inclosure, apartition reaching from the apex of the roof: to the floor providing two separate cornpartments, the upper portion of said partition being formed oi wire screen, adjustable air vents positioned. in the end walls of said compartments and on opposite sides of said. partition and near the apex of said roof, pans slidably positioned on said compartment floors, screens slidably positioned above and adjacent said pans andvadapted to act as supplemental floors for said compartments, a narrow transverse opening in one wall of each said compartments for the length or Width thereof, the top of said floor adjacent said openings forming the bottom" of the openings and the top of said openings being above the horizontalplane of the top of said screens, said openings havingremovable closures whereby said screens and pans may beremoveddrawer-like through said openings, hovers positioned in said compartments and being adapted to occupy a. relatively small floor space, vertically positioned spaced rows of spaced notchessecured to opposite sides of said partition, said hovers having means spaced therefrom and adapted to optionally engage certain said notches and form a, hinge support for the rearvside of the hovers, and

' adjustable means on the front side of said hovers whereby the hovers may be adjusted hinge-like or liftedwlid-liketo thereby exposeto view the en.- tire surface of said supplemental floors.

JOHN B. OLSON. ARNOLD ZE-NK. WILLIAM M. 

